GUILFORD — If you are as demoralized as I am by the constant lies and the nasty flood of tasteless, polarized politics draining from Trump's swamp, you may, like me, be thinking, “What's the use? Why vote?”
Then I stop and reflect: If I don't vote, if I don't try to be informed and engaged, this New Dark Age will be my responsibility.
OK, I am chair of the Guilford Democratic Committee, but that doesn't mean I'm not discouraged. I've always voted. I know too much of history and of the sacrifices of friends and family not to vote. I will.
Somehow, we all have to fight against apathy and discouragement. I am focusing on the grass roots.
Sara Coffey, running to be our Vernon/Guilford representative in the Vermont Legislature, is bright, is thoughtful, and speaks her mind clearly. She is hopeful, and she gives me hope. She doesn't lie, nor does she say she has all the answers. She takes problems seriously, digs into the details.
And she gets things done. Her focused efforts in developing the Vermont Performance Lab have brought new energy, revitalizing the arts community. Then she saw the need to help our aging Guilford Broad Brook Grange Hall and pitched in as one of the planning committee, negotiating regulations and raising money to re-create it as a vibrant community center.
I'm convinced that up in Montpelier she will do the same, that she will take on the difficult issues like reorganizing the economy, education, and health care, and that all of us in Vernon and Guilford will be proud of her accomplishments.
So, please, neighbors: come out to meet her and listen, and then get out and vote.
Do our votes count? They won't bring reform to Washington, but they will count and make life better here at the grass roots.